Dick Kinzel's Revenge! (Shot Glass size Free Water Cups)...

Six bucks for a hot dog? That's a problem. Using small cups for water? That's standard just about anywhere. McDonalds, Regal Cinemas, Disney ... they all give smaller cups for tap water. I don't have a problem with Cedar Point or any other business using that as a motivation for purchasing beverages. If that's a problem, then the beef isn't really with Cedar Point, it's with everyone.

I don't think it's the price of Pepsi, either. I think there are people who would just want plentiful free water even if the beverage prices were more in line.

crazy horse said:
5 Pages....Must mean something to somebody.

It's only reflective of the debate, not the number of supporters.

Kind of makes you wonder why park x can give away free drinks, and park z charges more than anybody else .

You mean park a,b,c,d,e,f,g ... and z -- unless Cedar Point is the only amusement park charging for drinks. News flash: Offering free drinks isn't a good will gesture - it's a business decision.

Opinions very.

If prices were more in line, I would have no issue spending my money on a ice tea or poweraid. And Disney gives out large cups for water by the way. At least they did in feb when I was there last. Same thing for the movie theater by me...large cups also.I don't know about Mc donalds, because I always get the $1 sweet tea.

Your right...It is a buisness decision. A bad one on cedarpoint's behalf.

And it seems to be a good buisness decision for holiday world.

Like mentiond before, why does it cost money for a bottle of water? It used to be free.

I don't understand why "everyone's doing it" is a defense of actions that are unfriendly toward consumers.

For all you water fountain fans out there, you can have them. Fountains are a breeding ground for disease, people litterally put their mouth around fountains, spit in them, sneeze over them, heck even breathing can deposit germs on the spiggot. Not to mention 9 times out of 10 the water is nasty warm from them too.

Ill gladly wait in line at a booth and ask for 2 (sometimes 3) cups of water to satisfy my thirst.

Also to all of you "8 oz is one serving" people, well that is true however, when one is at CP on a 90 degree day in the sun you need a whole lot more intake of water to replace the amount you lose sweating.

"Everyone's doing it" isn't a defense, but it says that this isn't a tactic invented by Dick Kinzel to screw the workin' man.

It's not screwing anyone?...Well, it's sure not helping anyone.

It wasn't "helping" anyone before either.

Sure it was,by giving people a normal sized cup of water.

I really don't see this as a big deal, just ask for two cups.

As far as park "X" giving away free soft drinks, I am pretty sure that is built into the admission price. Nothing is ever free, they are just playing with your mind.

crazy horse said:
It's not screwing anyone?

I think you need to read my post more carefully.

Holiday world has added it into the cost at the gate, and it was only a couple of bucks more. Sounds like a deal to me. And since then...gasp...customer satisfaction has gone thrue the roof. Imagine that.

How often do you read a negative trip report from that park?

I will ask for more than one cup, heck I will even ask for 3-4. Not a big deal, except for the people waiting in line behind me and the cup count.

would you still be complaning if a bottle of water or pop was $1 or even $2. i think the real problen isnt free water but $4 water... for $4 i could buy a 24 pack at the store. myself ,if drinks were 1 or 2 dollars i would probably buy 6 to 10 drinks in a day for the convience of not carrying a maverick cup. as it is now i'll only buy mabey 1 ,if im desprate. while small free cups suck $4 bottle water sucks worse. i'd rather see cheaper consessions than bigger free water cups and im sure most people including the GP feel the same way.

Looks like they are starting to get the messege....

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/08/cedar_fair_sees_decreased_park.html

Touchdown said:
For all you water fountain fans out there, you can have them. Fountains are a breeding ground for disease, people litterally put their mouth around fountains, spit in them, sneeze over them, heck even breathing can deposit germs on the spiggot. Not to mention 9 times out of 10 the water is nasty warm from them too.

First of all, that's blatant hyperbole. I'm pretty sure I can tell when there's a fat loogie on a water spigot.

And secondly, do you think the "back of the house", where you get your precious cups, is that much cleaner? Clearly, you've never worked in the food service industry.

ADDED:
And, last I checked, not-freezing-cold water performed well enough to keep me hydrated.

Forget the cup and forget the water fountain. The e-coli is going to be in the ice.

This is a case of an axe to grind with Dick. I'm all for complaining about his leadership and the decisions Cedar Fair has made over the past five years. But, in context complaing about a small glass of free water is like me (a bald man) complaining about the size of my brush.

Walt said:
"Everyone's doing it" isn't a defense, but it says that this isn't a tactic invented by Dick Kinzel to screw the workin' man.

That still doesn't make it any less consumer unfriendly. I could care less about the Dick factor, regardless of what the original author's intent was. It's still a lame practice.

And isn't there a difference between doing this at, say, McDonalds (where you can get a LOT of soda for a reasonable price, plus free refills), and doing it to a captive audience whose other choices are ridiculously overpriced beverages?

Much of the discussion has centered around the Dick factor, which is where my disagreement comes from. I agree with Chief's point above.

That said, in general, I think it would be great if there were larger cups. I just don't see it on the same level of

djDaemon said:
And isn't there a difference betweendoing this at, say, McDonalds

Apparently, it's an issue for some people at McDonalds too.

Ok...here is a serious question. How many people (outside of our enthusiast community) are going to the Point thinking about the "value" they will be receiving?

When I go to an amusement park (or a football game, a concert or other "tourist/entertainment" venue) I pretty much walk in knowing I'm going to get bent over a chair all day long. I suppose in the aftermath of the visit if I look back and feel like I got a good value I'm pleasantly surprised (as I do when I leave Disney) but it doesn't disuade me from going to any of those events again.

There is a "breaking point" to all of this pricing. When I worked at Disney I had a chance to question an executive on ticket pricing. I asked if it was unfair to charge as much as they did for admission (and this is when it is half what it is now) because it limits some folks from being able to visit the park. His rather blatant response was that they WANTED to limit some folks from being able to enter the park. If it was too "reasonable" the crowds would be unbearable for everyone.

What Cedar Fair is dealing with now, in my opinion, is the punishement for years of hanging their hat on the per cap. In order to keep the per cap looking strong to investors while attendance is down they have had to up their in-park prices to ridiculous levels. While it is impacting some as evidenced in this topic it hasn't substantially impacted the bottom line to the point that Dick and the gang need to retreat.

I don't agree with it at all. If you ever see me in line for a Subway sandwich at Cedar Point I give you permission to strike me dead right there. I think the strategy is bass-ackwards. But, I'm not the guy in charge and if it really upset me as much as it is upsetting some here then I would just stop going to the park.